PARIS – A 5,000-ton cargo train crashed into a vehicle at a crossing early Thursday morning, and rescuers were forced to tear off one of the car doors to free the injured driver.
Paul Chamberlain, who turned 62 on Thursday, was taken to Central Maine Medical Center after the Paris Fire Department used the Jaws of Life to remove him from his car about 5 a.m., Sgt. Michael Dailey of the Paris police said a few hours after the accident.
Hospital officials reported that Chamberlain was in fair condition Thursday evening.
Dailey said Chamberlain was driving down Prospect Street to High Street when he stopped his 1996 Pontiac Grand Prix on the tracks. Although the train conductor and engineer blew the horn, they told police Chamberlain didn’t respond.
“Sometimes when a person gets into that situation, they get a deer-in-the-headlight look,” Dailey said. “But according to the train personnel, the driver didn’t appear to acknowledge the train was coming.”
Dailey said he would interview Chamberlain soon and investigate his medical history. Chamberlain is a newspaper carrier for the Portland Press Herald, and Dailey said he was on his early morning route Thanksgiving day.
The 44-car train was traveling from New Hampshire to the Lewiston-Auburn area and was carrying non-hazardous cargo, Dailey said. It was traveling 25 miles per hour, and although the train operators applied an emergency brake after realizing Chamberlain’s car was not moving, they could not stop in time.
Dailey said, “It took at least a tenth of a mile for the train to come to a stop,” and when it struck the Pontiac on the driver’s side, the train pushed it 110 feet down the tracks. Chamberlain was flown by helicopter to the Lewiston hospital. Dailey said he was conscious during the rescue.
The crossing has what is called a passive warning system, and there are pavement markings and signs. Dailey said that because visibility is a quarter-mile in both directions down the track, and because there is light traffic over the railroad, the crossing does not need a system with barriers and lights.
When the accident occurred, the snow had not yet started to fall, and it was slightly cloudy. But Dailey said the train has a headlight with a high beam and two auxiliary lights below. “One should clearly have seen a train approaching,” he said.
Dailey said the last train and car collision in town occurred on Main Street three years ago. He could not recall any other accidents at the Prospect Street crossing.
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